Strategy and Innovation Unit

The Directorate-General for External Policies (DG EXPO) is made up of four directorates: Committees, Regions (covering interparliamentary delegations), Resources and Democracy Support.  

Staff of DG EXPO form a European team of advisers supporting the European Parliament's President and political bodies in their work on the EU's external policies. Colleagues in DG EXPO provide advice on matters of substance and procedure, liaise with other EU institutions and manage resources. The focus is on legislation, parliamentary oversight of the European Commission and EEAS, and support for parliamentary democracy. Most of the work is done in Brussels.

The Strategy and Innovation Unit of the Directorate-General for External Policies (USIN EXPO) provides strategic advice to the Director General for External Policies and DG EXPO services with the aim to strengthen the impact of EP’s action in the field of external action and work in a more strategic, forward-looking, innovative and collaborative way.

Our unit consists of approximately 7 staff and our responsibilities include:

1. Ensuring the effective and strategic development, coordination and implementation of Parliament’s external policies.
2. Cooperation and coordination within Parliament and with other EU Institutions, as well as strengthening relations with international organizations and research institutes.
3. Promoting efficiency across DG EXPO through innovation, better working methods, training, metrics and guidance.
4. Managing access to information, data protection and security and political reporting.

You will work closely with your supervisor to contribute to the tasks of the unit, including by monitoring relevant developments in the field of EU external action, reporting on meetings of parliamentary bodies, carrying out research, analysing data and contributing to drafting of policy briefings and strategy notes, including formulating policy recommendations related to the role of the European Parliament in EU’s external policies and introducing elements of foresight in the work of the DG. You will also be involved in the organisation of in-house seminars and workshops on procedures, working methods and strategic issues.

Throughout your traineeship, you will furthermore have the opportunity to acquire an in-depth knowledge of the Parliament’s various strategic management tools which form the basis for the administrative reporting cycle. Based on your direct involvement in the strategic developments within DG EXPO, you may also be asked to help with producing summaries and visual material in order to facilitate the understanding of our key strategic issues at stake.

We organize dedicated info sessions on key skills on the European Parliament and EU foreign policy areas for our group of trainees.

We are looking for an intellectually curious and motivated trainee with a proven interest in foreign policy, a good understanding of EU affairs and institutions, and a strategic approach with a view to finding innovative solutions.

You have strong research and analytical skills, with the ability to critically assess and summarize information and data and you have a creative and computer-literate mind-set including a good knowledge of Power Point and Canva. Other visual and ICT skills are a plus.

A good communicator, you have excellent oral and drafting skills, particularly in English (French would be a plus).

You will work as the only trainee in a small and dynamic unit so the tasks will be versatile and demand a certain level of flexibility. You are able to work independently, but also as part of a team, and to meet short and changing deadlines. Reliability and attention to detail are important assets.